"I can't believe you two would stoop to blackmail," I say as I snatch the photos (AND the negatives - I'm no fool) from Shinobu-sempai's hand. Mitsuru-sempai shrugs, and Shinobu-sempai puts on a serious face as he replies.

"That party after the film festival set us back quite a ways, Shun, and the dorm was running a substantial deficit even before that. We were counting on one of the others winning this bet with lower odds, so the dorm kitty could keep the remainder and get out of the red."

My eyes widen. "You mean... you really weren't kidding when you asked for contributions yesterday, were you?" The sempais shake their heads. I think they're telling the truth, but... I strike an indignant pose. "Well, you could have just explained the situation to me. I'm not made out of stone, you know. Why'd ya go through all this?" And I flip through the photos.

The photos tell the whole story, or at least help me to guess at it. There's me and Suka-chan, slumped over the table at La Mystique. There's Mitsuru-sempai, dragging Suka-chan out of the restaurant by his arms. A generic outside shot of the love hotel the sempais dragged us to. And then... well, most of the rest of the roll is devoted to pictures of the two of us draped over each other in the room and the bed. Fully clothed, thank the Kami, but quite disheveled. At least one of these shots has us almost kissing... am I glad I was comatose throughout this whole ordeal! Of course, if I hadn't been, it wouldn't have happened in the first place...

Even as I'm looking through these pictures, I can tell the sempais are grinning at me. It's as if I could hear it. "Oh, c'mon, Shun. You got to go to a swanky French restaurant that you'll never get a chance at again - "

"Since they'll never let any of us back in there again after all this."

Mitsuru-sempai ignores me. " - and for that matter, so did we - and we all had a lot of fun."

"Yeah, until you guys showed up. Do you realize what Suka-chan was doing?"

Shinobu-sempai grins. "We did. You know, you ought to thank us for rescuing you from that."

I put my hands on my hips. "I was just about to tell him about myself when you two 'rescued' me. I was about to get out of this jam on my own, thank you very much."

"Oh, I very much doubt that..."

"Huh?"

"Think about it, Shun-chan. He's in love with you." As if that weren't obvious even to me. "I don't think he'd even want to believe the truth at this point. And if he could find it in himself to believe it, I think you'd be lucky if he let you off with having to sleep in the hall for the rest of the semester."

I sink to the floor. So it comes to this: either way, my life with Suka-chan is going to be a living hell from here on out. The only thing up to me is whether it's going to be due to his love or his hatred.

Shit. Looks like I'm a girl until we graduate. "I see. Well, I can still scream if he gets fresh, right?"

Mitsuru-sempai grins cockily. "He's been warned, remember? You're welcome to."

***

I've got the photos clutched in my hand as I head to my own dorm room. Yes, I'm gonna destroy them as soon as I can, but first, I really ought to show them to Suka-chan. I want him to appreciate my sacrifice on his behalf. It cost me too much to not receive some amount of gratitude.

Damn, but he sleeps like a stone. I had had to drag him from the hotel in this semi-comatose state in the wee hours of the morning. Mitsuru-sempai and Shinobu-sempai had been waiting, and got a couple of shots of that, too. That was how I figured this all out. If it weren't for Suka-chan, I'd've chased 'em down and yanked the film right out of their camera on the spot. But I couldn't just drop him.

Nor can I wake him even now. He's been asleep for what? Thirteen, fourteen hours? You'd think the stuff would have worn off by now...

Then it hits me. He's just recently been operated on... his body wasn't ready for the liquor, let alone the drug! I force open Suka- chan's left eye -- it looks glazed.

Oh man, are we in trouble! "Sempais! Sempais!! I need your help! NOW!!"